
Banquet
of the
Beasts
Tim Cowen

The World of the Badger
A poem
What is it like to live underground?
Chiselling out the earth
until it forms deep memories
and calls you back in.
What is it like to sleep in darkness?
A tunnel for your chamber
and a chamber for your tunnel,
with dreams that come in three dimensions
of scent, touch and taste.
What is it like to dig and dig and dig
where generations of badgers have dug before you?
And routes down are blessed
with family and instinct.
What is it like to possess
a playful snuffling of fortitude?
Where there is nourishment in the soil
and laughter in the vibrations.
What would it be like for me
to experience your world,
not through my eyes or your eyes, but our eyes?
As we dig new alignments and openings together.
​
What would it be like
for my voice to be your voice,
and your paws to be my hands?
And for us to both carve out stories,
from the soil, the earth and the stones.
And what would it be like
for there to be no end
to the love and learning?
For my tracks to be your pathways,
ancient channels of communication,
guiding us both back to a peaceful place within.
Tim Cowen, 2024
